Who Balances Your Checkbook?

I was listening to Family Life Today on the radio this morning and they were talking about gender and money. It was interesting to hear about how men and women look at money differently. They were talking about how the partner that is stronger in handling the checkbook should do it, but that the man should be in charge of the overall finances of the family.  I thought this was an interesting statement in today’s culture and was wondering what others would think about it.

In our family, my wife usually balances the checkbook and pays the bills. She is much more organized than I am and the work will definately get done and on time. She keeps me informed of our situation and we both make the decisions on where the money goes. Overall if it came down to it, I would have final say in the matter, at least thats what she tells me.  I think that the man is the head of the household and that includes the finances,  but it is absolutely fine for either person to do the day to day managing of the finances. Whoever does it should make sure to include the other partner, because they are just that, the partner. Decisions should be made together and an agreement should be made as to who will have the final say.

How does it work in your house? Does one person handle everything without consulting the other? Does that work? I’m curious to hear how things are done in other families and how well that works for them.